Chapter Ten

Faith sat in the control room watching the monitors with Andrew and Xander. Over the last handful of months, the technology they had kept growing and she was thoroughly impressed with Andrew in hooking Buffy, Satsu, and Kennedy up with headpieces that had a small camera attached on the end. Xander explained how the Initiative had a lot of the same things tech wise, but she glossed over and tried to listen and watch as Buffy, Kennedy, and Satsu led the girls across the field towards the barrier.

"Andy?" Faith turned to look at him. "Got any popcorn or anything?"

Andrew jumped up from his chair he'd pulled up next to Faith's and ran to his desk, coming back not even a minute later with a bag of plain chips. "All I have."

"Thanks," Faith said as she grabbed the bag from him and opened it. "What, Xand?"

"Nothing."

"Want some?"

"Already ate, thanks," he muttered and crossed his arms over his chest as he turned his attention back to the monitors. He picked up his headset and slipped it on. "Buff, incoming about half a mile from you. There are twenty of them just waiting."

"We're not even out of the barrier yet."

"Seems like they aren't waiting for you in the caves this time."

"Great," Buffy said and Faith could only imagine she was rolling her eyes at the moment. "How are things holding up?"

"No breach yet. Robin and his squad are at the ready just in case."

"Did Tweed get that priest yet?"

Faith chuckled as Xander cast a look back at her. It was bad enough Kennedy had started talking like Willow sometimes and now Buffy was beginning to do the same thing. He shook his head and continued to speak with Buffy briefly before ending the transmission between them. Faith was itching to be out there with Buffy and the others and it was making her whole body twitch knowing she had to sit this fight out.

"Where's Willow?" Faith asked Andrew quietly, looking over the monitors that were placed around the castle. "She didn't go out there with them, did she?"

"No," Andrew replied and he reached for the bag of chips and took a handful. "She and Danu are up on the roof and ready just in case the barrier does fail."

"And the others?"

"Mr. Giles is with Dawn and Percy trying to track down a priest. Mr. Giles said he would call as soon as they found one," Andrew said quickly. "They're past the barrier now."

Faith leaned forward in the chair a little before moving to sit closer to the monitors. She picked at her cast, wanting nothing more than to be right next to Buffy walking into this fight. Buffy had the scythe and whenever Kennedy or Satsu stole a glance at Buffy, she felt an undeniable burn of arousal surge through her body seeing Buffy wielding the scythe and looking every bit the powerful Slayer she was.

"Word just came in from the squads that didn't make it," Xander said as he checked over his phone. "Body count is up to thirty-five."

"Shit," Faith muttered and she continued picking at her cast, feeling the plaster slowly begin to crumble bit by bit. "Come on, B," she said under her breath. "Get in, get that sword and get the hell out."

"It'll be okay, Faith," Andrew said with a smile as he patted her on the shoulder. "She'll get it."

"I know," Faith said, forcing a smile and forcibly removing Andrew's hand off her shoulder. "Xand, let Buffy know the count is up."

"Where are you going?" Xander asked as Faith turned the chair around and headed for the door.

"I'm going to see an angel and a witch about working some more of that witch-fu on me. I am not sitting out on this fight. I don't care what any of them say."


Buffy came to a stop and held up the scythe as she signalled the rest of the slayers to stop as well. They were at the edge of the barrier and just beyond it, dozens of Neqa'el waited. Her heart was racing, her body tingling in anticipation of the fight they were seconds away from running head first into. She looked over the Neqa'el, looking for the one Danu described. She saw him at the back of the group, his blond hair so bright it glowed under the midday sun.

The plan was not to eliminate the Neqa'el, just to fight until they got what they'd come for. It wouldn't be an even fight, not for the Neqa'el at least. There were at least three slayers to every Neqa'el faced before them. Buffy took a deep breath, letting her confidence calm her frazzled nerves. They'd make it through this fight, she'd get the sword they needed and that'd be that.

If only it could be that easy, Buffy thought as she gripped onto the scythe and made the signal for the others to step past the barrier.

Buffy ran forward, Kennedy and Satsu flanking each side, fighting off the Neqa'el that charged for them. She ducked away from a sword, feeling the tip slice the side of her head. It was just a scratch, barely, and she took a deep breath, ducking away again as the Neqa'el took another strike. Kennedy used her sword, stabbing the Neqa'el in the stomach as Buffy dropped to the ground and rolled forward and away from them.

She leapt to her feet, swinging the scythe at two Neqa'el that got too close to her. She dodged out of the way, to the left quickly, sweeping her leg around to send the one on her right crashing to the ground. The sound of chaos around her filled her ears, the clanking of swords versus swords ringing loudly over the battle cries coming from both sides. Her heart was racing as she kept her senses on high alert. She came face to face with another Neqa'el and she swung her scythe at it, watching as it easily flew back and out of the way in the blink of an eye.

Buffy looked over at the blond haired Neqa'el. He was standing there just watching the fight with a cocky smirk curled over his thin, pale lips. She saw the sun hit the blade of the sword and she dove to the ground, avoiding what could have been a fatal blow. She kicked the Neqa'el away from her and rolled to her right as another brought their sword down, missing her head by a fraction of an inch. Leaping up to her feet once again, she ran after the Neqa'el that had just tried to kill her. With a quick, perfectly timed flying roundhouse kick, she sent it flying through several others that had a handful of younger slayers surrounded.

The adrenaline was pumping through her veins and she took half a second too long to catch her breath. She felt the blow to the back of her head and she tumbled to the ground, crying out in pain as she rolled onto her back and swung the scythe at the Neqa'el that had kicked her hard.

"Buffy, to your left!" Satsu yelled as Buffy leapt to her feet and swung the scythe to her left.

"So much for not killing them," Buffy muttered as the Neqa'el she'd taken the swing at slumped to the ground, its head rolling through the grass. "Kennedy, stay with us!"

"Right behind ya, boss!"

Buffy grumbled and moved forward, the ground beneath her feet uneven, her steps almost unsure. She looked behind her, watching just for a second as the younger slayers fought against the Neqa'el. The one she was headed for was retreating through the forest and she snapped her fingers at Kennedy and Satsu and the three of them took off running.

The sky grew darker as they chased after the Neqa'el with the sword they needed. Thunder cracked as lightning zigzagged across the sky. The rain began to fall as they reached the edge of the forest and continued running after the Neqa'el as it disappeared into the mouth of the caves.

"Why wasn't it flying?" Kennedy asked as they came to a stop. "It could've flown away instead of run. Why didn't it fly?"

"Who knows? Maybe it wanted us to follow it?" Satsu shrugged. "What now, Buffy?"

"We go in after it," she said as she pulled the flashlight from the utility belt she was now glad Andrew had talked her into wearing. She pulled the headset mouthpiece closer and took a deep breath before speaking. "Xander?"

"Yeah, Buff?"

"Tell the others to retreat behind the barrier. We're at the caves. We're going in."

"We still got visual. On it."

"Stand by for request for backup."

"Sure thing, Buff. Uh, might be a problem and not a good time to tell you but...Faith has gone looking for Willow and Danu. Something about getting them to work more witch-fu on her so she can come and fight with you guys."

Buffy sighed heavily and flipped on the flashlight, motioning to Kennedy and Satsu to follow her as she headed into the cave's mouth. "Whatever you do, Xander, don't let her come down here."

"Might not have much of a choice there, Buffster."

"You have the tranq gun. Use it."

Buffy ended the transmission, ignoring the obvious looks from Satsu and Kennedy as they followed the main tunnel down in the caves. They moved quickly, keeping their senses alert in case there were other Neqa'el hiding down there in the caves and waiting for their moment to strike. Buffy came to an abrupt stop just before they reached the cavern and she motioned to Kennedy and Satsu to stop and stay down.

Buffy switched the flashlight off and peered over the boulder she was crouched behind. She saw the Neqa'el with the sword they'd been chasing and it-he-was standing by three others quietly talking. Satsu moved next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We're outnumbered," she whispered. "What do we do now?"

"We wait. We watch. The others might leave."

"Buffy, we can't waste any time. We need to get that sword and get back."

"I know that," Buffy hissed and she placed her hand over Satsu's mouth. "Stay quiet."


Faith had no other way of getting up to the roof being in the chair. She groaned loudly as she got to her feet and began to climb up the spiral staircase. The pain was almost unbearable, but she ignored it as she reached the doorway and pushed it open. The rain was coming down in sheets and she could barely see Willow and Danu at the far end of the flat section of the roof.

"Faith, what are you doing up here?" Willow asked as she quickly made her way over to Faith. "Get back inside. It's not safe for you up here."

"Got a favour to ask, Red."

"No," Willow said as she shook her head no. "We can't do it again."

"Why the hell not?"

"It doesn't work that way, Faith."

"Bullshit!" Faith yelled, the roar of the rain nearly drowning her voice. She grabbed Willow by the front of her shirt roughly, the anger and frustration driving her to an extreme. "I can't fuckin' wait for my goddamn leg to heal on its own, Red! I need to be out there fighting this fight with them!"

"You don't have a choice!" Willow yelled back and she wrenched Faith's hands off her shirt. "Get back inside. Now!"

"Get back inside, Faith," Xander said as he stepped out onto the roof. Faith spun around and laughed when she saw the tranq gun in his hand.

"Whatcha gonna do, Xand? Shoot me?"

"If that's what it takes," he replied as he took a tentative step forward. "I'm following orders, Faith."

"What orders?"

"Buffy's."

"This is fuckin' rich," Faith laughed incredulously. "Karma is a bitch, huh?"

"Faith, get back inside," Xander said calmly. She just crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. He raised the gun and aimed it at her midsection. "Don't make me do it."

Faith held her arms out and laughed. "Do it!"

"They're in!" Danu yelled. "Barrier is down!"

"Faith," Xander said as his hand began to shake. "You need to get back inside now!"

"Fuck that," she laughed again and she turned to look at the handful of Neqa'el flying in towards them. "Bring it on, fuckers!"

She fell to the ground as the tranq hit her in the back of her shoulder. As her eyes began to close, the last thing she saw was Xander bending down to pick her up and everything went black.


Buffy stayed behind the boulder, watching the four Neqa'el as they continued to talk indistinctly. Kennedy moved forward a little more and mouthed "now" to Buffy. They leapt out from behind the boulder and charged at the Neqa'el, prepared to take them down to get what they came for.

"The Slayers," the blond haired Neqa'el said as the three others moved to grab onto Kennedy and Satsu in a blink of an eye. "We've not been formally introduced. I am Treon."

"And I'm the chick whose gonna kick your ass," Buffy said with a smirk as she gripped onto the scythe.

"You must be the famous Buffy," Treon said with a smirk as he twirled the sword in his hand. "You are a legend in the ethereal beyond."

"Don't care. Didn't come here to chat, Treon."

"Of course not," he said and motioned to the other Neqa'el to let go of Kennedy and Satsu. "I do know what you've come for. You won't get it."

"That's where you're wrong. I always get what I want."

"Your friends are in danger," Treon laughed. "The barrier your witch cast has failed."

Buffy stayed calm as she switched the scythe from her left hand to her right. Her hair, her clothes, every inch of her was soaked with sweat and rain. She was cold, scared, yet the adrenaline flowed through her and edged her on. She inhaled deeply, looking over Treon while keeping an eye on the three other Neqa'el, Satsu, and Kennedy.

Buffy charged towards Treon, swinging the scythe at his head in a blind rage. Treon laughed as he flew back a half a second before that fatal blow. Buffy spun around quickly, watching as one of the other Neqa'el jabbed the sword into Satsu's chest. Kennedy fought with the other two as they backed her up into a corner. Buffy turned to face Treon, anger bubbling inside of her.

"We will end you all. We will restore the balance."

"Fuck the balance," Buffy growled as she lurched forward, using the stake on the end of her scythe and plunged it into Treon's eye. Black blood spurted as she pulled the scythe back and her stomach lurched as Treon howled in pain. "Ew."

"Buffy!" Kennedy screamed out as she continued to struggle against the two Neqa'el that had her cornered. "Kill him and get the sword! Then you know, help me out here!"

"It'll be too late before you end this," Treon laughed incredulously as he staggered back, his wings limp, the black blood trailing from his erupted eye socket. "Danu knows it'll be too late. There's far too many of us here now. Closing the portal will not kill us all."

"Maybe not, but I got an army of slayers and we will take you down. One by one."

Treon turned to run, but Buffy was quick to react, sliding across the dirt and stone ground and swept his legs out from under him. He let out a surprised yelp as he fell onto his back and Buffy rose to her feet, gripping tightly onto her scythe as she stared down at him.

"Got news for you, Treon. Guess which one I'm gonna take down first?"

Buffy grinned as she placed a foot on his chest and bent over to grab the sword out of his hand. She dropped her scythe and gripped the silver handle, the weight of the sword feeling just right-as right as the scythe had the first time she'd ever held it. She blew him a kiss before she brought the sword down, decapitating him with one quick slice to the neck.

"Buffy!" Kennedy yelled as she used her own sword to kill one of the Neqa'el as it got too close to her. "A little fucking help here would be nice! Really don't feel like dying today!"

Buffy kicked Treon's head across the cavern floor and picked up her scythe, feeling the rush of the slay pump wildly through her veins. She ran over to Kennedy and pulled the last Neqa'el standing away from her. She made quick work, eliminating the Neqa'el before it had a chance to realize what was about to happen next. She turned to Kennedy with a satisfied smile on her face before it quickly disappeared.

"She's dead," Kennedy groaned as she clutched her left arm. "She's fucking dead, Buffy!"

"Where'd the other one go?"

"I don't know," Kennedy gasped as she ripped the sleeve of her shirt off. She had a deep gash, the blood just pouring down her arm. Buffy grabbed the torn sleeve and helped her tie it off to stop the flow. "Buffy, we got to get outta here now. If the others come, we're as fucking dead as Satsu."

"Xander?" Buffy said through the headset. "Xander, are you there?"

All that came in response was static. Buffy growled in frustration and ran over to Satsu's lifeless body. She slid the sword into the sheath on her belt and placed her scythe in the strap on her back before she bent down and picked up Satsu in her arms.

"Goddamnit," Buffy sighed as she shook her head. "Kennedy, watch my back. We're getting out of here."

"On it," Kennedy replied with a curt nod and followed Buffy to the tunnel they'd come down in.

Buffy led the way through the dark tunnel, her eyesight having adjusted to the darkness. She barely even noticed it. The closer they got to the surface, the harder her heart began to race. The roar of the rain became louder as they reached the opening and the sky had grown so dark it looked as if it were night and not the middle of the day. She tried to reach Xander again, but the static was louder than it had been before. She breathed heavily as she and Kennedy moved quickly through the forest, the rain coming down harder with every step that they took.

Buffy came to a stop at the clearing just before the edge of what used to be the barrier. She placed Satsu's body down on the wet grass and grabbed her scythe as she saw the fight before her. A couple girls were down, others still fighting with all that they had. None of the Neqa'el had spotted her and Kennedy yet and she pulled Kennedy down behind a row of shrubs.

"We need to get to the castle without being seen," Buffy said quietly as she peered over the top of the shrubs at the fight happening before them.

"Kinda impossible, Buffy," Kennedy muttered as she gripped her injured arm. "There should have been some kind of spell Willow could've done to get the damn sword."

"You know that's not possible. It was already discussed. Danu said-"

"Right. Danu. One of them!"

"Kennedy, shut the hell up," Buffy snapped and she slapped her hard across the face. "God you are so..."

"You know something?" Kennedy smirked when Buffy couldn't finish what she was saying. "I really don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why Faith is all so head over heels in love with you. You're nothing but a bitch."

Buffy ignored her as she moved out from behind the shrubs. She left Satsu's body where it was, knowing she'd never be able to fight if she was carrying her back home. She took off running, leaving Kennedy behind. She ran quickly, dodging past the fighting slayers and Neqa'el, her boots hitting the ground hard and the sound of her heart racing echoing through her head. She was halfway across the field and came to a sudden stop. She grabbed the scythe and swung it around, killing the three Neqa'el that had begun to close in on her with one swing.

She couldn't leave the girls-her slayers-out there alone to fight. She ran back to the crowd, flinging herself into the middle of the fight, trying to help the others before they got themselves killed. The Neqa'el began to push them back towards the castle; the sounds of the fight being drown out by the thunderous roar of the rain. She stopped to pull a few of the slayers that had tripped and fallen to the ground back up to their feet before she pushed them out of the way of a long sword wielded by one of the bigger Neqa'el.

"Come on," Buffy said through gritted teeth as she stood her ground. "Show me what you got."

Her body was growing tired. She was wet, sore, and her whole body was charged from the rush of every blow, every kill she made. She managed to block each blow the bulky Neqa'el took at her. It growled as she wretched its sword away and sent it flying backwards with a solid roundhouse kick to its chest. She turned and headed back towards the castle on shaky legs, her energy feeling as if it had been completely drained from her. Out of nowhere a bright blue light shot out from the roof of the castle, blinding her and causing her to come to a dead stop about twenty feet from the door.

Anguished cries from the Neqa'el pierced the air and left her ears ringing as she turned to watch as each of them stopped fighting, spread their wings and flew off quickly before the barrier reinforced itself around the castle's grounds. She turned back around and ran inside the castle, heading straight for the control room.

"Buffy!" Xander jumped in surprise from where he stood in front of the monitors that were now black. "We have no idea what happened. All communications and visual failed about twenty minutes ago."

"Everyone safe?" Buffy asked, almost breathless as she placed the sword she'd retrieved on Andrew's desk. "Is everyone safe, Xander?"

"Far as I know, yeah," he nodded and turned back to the monitors as each screen flickered and the video feed came through again. "Faith is in the infirmary."

"What happened?"

"Had to shoot her with the tranq gun. Long story. Sorry."

"Don't," Buffy said and she took a deep breath as she stared at the monitors, watching on the screen as the younger slayers made their way back to the castle. "You were following orders."

"She's so gonna kick my ass when she wakes up," Xander winced before he straightened up and readjusted his eye patch nervously. "How many are down, do you know?"

"Satsu," Buffy replied quietly, her voice void of emotion. "Her body is outside just beyond the barrier. I don't know how many others...I don't know. We've lost so many now, Xander. We can't lose this fight."

"We won't, Buff. You got what you went out there for," he said with a forced smile as he pointed to the sword. Andrew picked it up, eyes gleaming with fascination as he took a few practice swings with it. "Andrew, put the sword down."

"Sorry!" Andrew yelped as he dropped the sword back down on the desk. "I'll call Mr. Giles and tell him the mission was a success."

"Buff?" Xander said quietly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She was staring blankly at the monitors as a few tears slid down her cheeks. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you need me to-"

"I'm going to go see Faith. She'll be awake soon. The tranq's will have worked their way through her system by now," Buffy said and she shook Xander's hand off of her. "Make sure the others are okay. Any injured, send them to the infirmary right away. I'll be down later and we'll deal with this."

She dropped the scythe next to the sword on the desk before taking off the belt she wore and dropped it down on top of both weapons. She pulled her wet hair back from her face as she made her way out of the control room and towards the stairs to the right. Every step took too much of an effort, but she pressed on until she reached the second floor. She headed down to the infirmary and walked right in, startling Dr. Ritz as the doors banged loudly against the walls.

Faith was nowhere to be seen inside the infirmary and all the beds were empty. Buffy stormed back out of the infirmary, heading back to the stairs and climbed up to the third floor and went straight to Faith's room. The door was ajar a few inches and she pushed it open. She found Faith lying on her bed and staring blankly up at the ceiling.

"Faith?" Buffy whispered, almost afraid to walk into her room. "Faith, are you okay?"

"Just fuckin' peachy, B. Glad to see you're still alive."

"Xander said you were-"

"I'm gonna kick his ass for puttin' that tranq in me," Faith snapped as she sat up in her bed. "Was down in the infirmary. Couldn't stand it. Spent far too much time in there as it is. Had to get the hell outta there, you know? Figured if those fuckers were gonna get inside, I'd want to die in my own bed."

"But you're...okay, right?"

"Five by five," Faith replied coldly as she looked over at Buffy. "Did ya get it? The sword?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"How many died this time?"

"Satsu," Buffy said under her breath as she stepped inside the room and closed the door when she heard the sounds of the younger slayers coming up the stairs. "I don't know how many others died out there. I don't think I want to know."

"I shoulda been out there with ya, B," Faith said, the coldness in her voice dropping away with every word she spoke. Buffy shivered, her wet clothes feeling heavy and cold against her skin. "Shit, you're freezing, ain't ya?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, her teeth chattering as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Well," Faith said as she pulled back the covers on her bed and smirked. "Get outta those wet clothes and hop in. I'll get ya warm in no time."

Buffy laughed and shook her head no. "I think I better just go to my room, get out of these clothes and run a nice hot bath and try to relax."

"Didn't hurt to try," Faith chuckled softly as the tension slipped away from between them. "Ya gonna come back after?"

"If you want me to?"

"Sure."

"You won't kick me out later?"

"Not this time," Faith replied easily. "But when ya come back, you're gonna tell me everything that happened out there. I want details."

"Wait," Buffy said as she stopped herself from leaving, noticing that Faith no longer had the cast on her leg. "What happened-?"

"Got wet when I went up on the roof. Doc took it off. I booked it outta there before she could put another one on me."

"Is it still broken?"

"Dunno. It still hurts," Faith shrugged. "Think it's pretty much healed up though. Made it up here in one piece, didn't I?"

"I won't be long," Buffy said quietly, smiling at Faith as she opened the door.

No matter what she'd just been through, seeing that cocky smirk only Faith could pull off sent the butterflies fluttering she didn't know were there in her stomach. It made her forget the pain she felt in her strained muscles. It made her forget just how exhausted, cold, and wet she was. It made her forget that Satsu and god knows how many other girls had fallen in that fight.

She just wished she'd turned down the offer to strip out of her clothes and let Faith warm her up. There'd be another time for that, and all she had now aside from the hot bath she was going to have to warm her up were the thoughts of just how Faith would've managed to do just that.